Saiko no kuraima= Best climber
I have always been a good climber. Mama taught me how to climb stairs when I was 10 months old. She thought it would be best if I accomplished stairs while crawling was my primary mode of travel so it would be more natural to crawl up them then to walk up them. I took to the stair climbing challenge quickly. In just a few weeks, Mama saw that I was comfortable enough to summit them without much supervision. Little did she know, that was just the beginning. Now, I am always climbing.
Slides are the one of the first things I climb when I get to the playground. "I climbing. Slide. Red slide. Pay cow! I climb, please." I say this when we pass this playground or if I think we might come to one soon. Usually, the slide is clear of children when I scale the slippery surface. There are sometimes children waiting to come down. Usually, they wait for me. Sometimes they come down and plow into me. I have yet to be affected too much by their additional force, it just adds another element to my climb. On average, kids or no kids, I spend one minute trying to climb the slide every time we arrive at a playground.
I have been climbing the easy ladder for days now. Also, I can climb the more difficult one, but I don't prefer it. At other playgrounds Mama Roo has seen me scale taller climbing structures/stairs, but never something like this. Today, I conquer what Mama perceives as my biggest climbing challenge yet... the moving CHAIN LADDER!
At first, I fall a little. Almost every time we visit this playground I attempt this ladder. Usually, I fall a little like you see in the first shot then catch myself and venture back out of the web. "Oopsie. I fall. I climbing." I run back to steal a kiss or a snack from Mama for support.
Today, on the second try I climb right up! Considering each step carefully, I slowly make my way past the point I always fall. Mama Roo realizes this and is intently watching. As you can imagine, each time I move a foot or a hand the chain wiggles and releases some of the tension I use to provide sure footing. I learn to combat this and figure out how to find my next hold at the same time. Grabbing on creates another tension, so I must shift my weight again.
Mama is on the edge of her seat now. We are both in a concentrated silence. I can feel her prideful stare on my back. It gets easier as I move toward the top. I can grab the rail now! On the platform I am proud. Mama Roo puts down the camera, smiles big, and throws her arms into a gymnast salute."EEEEeeee. I climbing," I squeal with delight. Standing over the slide I decide if my adrenaline is pumping enough for that challenge too. It's not. Instead of the slide, I favor my usual method down, my favorite easy ladder.
I go up and down many more times. Hold, push, steady, pull.
Because I accomplish this climb, I am very confident in my climbing abilities today. I attempt two other conquests I have yet to master. I find victory in one but not the other.
The swings are my second climbing success today! I know, you would think I have been on big girl swings before. I haven't. Mama has this unusual rule that if I can't get up onto something, I'm not big enough to be up there in the first place. She feels especially strongly about this rule at the playground. According to her, the playground is a place for a child to have freedom, not for her to follow me around helping and coaxing me to play a certain way. Mostly, I can see where she is coming from. This rule has obviously served me well.
So, back to the swings. Watching this girl, I feel like I should give it a go today. These ones are so low. I can wiggle myself up onto them! Surprised, Mama makes her way over to snap some shots of my proud smile. "Wow, Lu, you did it all by yourself!" She is beaming. "Look at you climbing everything today!" I smile big back at her.
I fall off a little and she holds the seat steady so I can boost myself up again. She even gives me some pushes. "Swings. I do maseff. I swing. Weeeee. Weee. All done."
There is still another climbing feat to attempt. "Animals! I do it. Duck. I climbing duck." Trying my hardest, I figure out how to get my leg onto the structure. I steady myself and know I have to throw my leg over. Mama has told me how before. This isn't my first attempt.
I throw it over too far and land on the ground. "Ooopsieeeee," I cry for a second. Mama makes her way over. She scoops me up when I reach for her. "Hands. Dirty hands." She tells me to brush them on my belly. I obey and wiggle to get down. "Down, please." I am down, but not defeated.
Back to the old standby. The ladybug is my sure bet. I have been climbing her for weeks now. Ending on a high note is always best! Up, wiggle, bounce, then back down.
"Yaydybug. Weeeee. I climb it. Animals. I fun."
"Yes, dear you are the best toddler climber I know. You are my big, big girl."
"Big girl. I a girl. Daddy a boy. Mommy a girl. Big girl. All done. Home?"
We start walking toward the orange sidewalk. I don't stop talking all the way home. Remind you of anyone? Mama adds a few "that's right" and "uhuh" in for good measure.
"I walking home. Ready? Orge sidechalk, I walking maseff. I fast. Bye pay cow. Bye slide. Weee. Kids. Kids. Boys. Girls. I walking. Hand? Mama's hand? Look, doggie poo poo. Doggie poo poo. No grass. Walk here. Hold hand? More sidechalk. Cars. Two cars. Careful, cars dangeriss. Red car. More cars. Bikes too. Orge sidechalk. Focus and obey. Door, there. I running. Go. No-no, no-no. Yes-yes. Mama help. Button. I push it. People? Wait. No people. Five. Button five. I push it. Here you go. Door open. I close it. No? There. Door. Open it. I inside. Shoes off. I sitting........"
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